People who own SodaStream machines may soon be able to see whether or not the in-home beverage-maker can truly replicate a big-name household brand. PepsiCo announced today that it will be doing a limited test of making its pop brands available for the SodaStream. [More]
Food & Personal Care
North Carolina Food Firm Shuts Down Two Weeks After Major Recall For Listeria Contamination
By 10.23.14
Just two weeks after recalling more than 150 food products for possible listeria contamination, a North Carolina-based food distributor is reportedly closing its doors. [More]
Red Velvet Oreos Could Be Real, Or Maybe Not
By 10.23.14
Red velvet, a type of cake flavored with chocolate and red food coloring, is very popular for some reason. With Oreo introducing novelty flavors for what seems like every holiday and season, the idea of red velvet cookies for Valentine’s Day isn’t completely unreasonable. Yet some college students confessed to creating the product as a marketing class assignment. Was that confession simply meant to throw dessert detectives off the trail? [More]
Survey: Overwhelming Majority Of U.S. Doctors Seeing Patients With Drug-Resistant Illnesses
By 10.23.14
While the pharmaceuticals industry and some livestock farmers and veterinarians still contend that there isn’t yet definitive proof that the overuse of antibiotics is leading to the development and spread of drug-resistant bacteria, a new survey of American doctors found that there is nearly universal concern among doctors about this issue, and that many physicians have treated patients with drug-resistant infections in just the last year. [More]
Professional Cheese Babysitter Exists, Is Now My Dream Job
By 10.22.14
Seeing as it’s yet another day, it’s time to think about how awesome cheese is, and how utterly fantastic it would be to have someone pay you money to eat it. Enter a professional cheese grader, who likes to think of himself as a “cheese babysitter,” and who is now the subject of my undying jealousy. [More]
What Does “Organic” Mean For Non-Edible Items? Not Much, Necessarily
By 10.21.14
Way back in 2002, the U.S. Department of Agriculture began certifying food and drinks that meet the federal standards to be called “organic.” Depending on the type of food, organic certification has different requirements. While a wide variety of products are marketed as “organic,” this label doesn’t necessarily mean anything when applied to a product that you can’t eat. [More]
Golden Corral Customer Claims His Chili Came With A Free Rat
By 10.21.14
Warning: If you want to make sure your breakfast/any food you’ve eaten recently stays put, you probably won’t want to click over and watch any videos that I’m about to link to. Because I already had to go through that for you, and don’t want you to suffer. To that end, a guy in Florida says he found a rat head in his chili at a Golden Corral restaurant. [More]
Walgreens Gives Teen Wrong Prescription, Shrugs
By 10.20.14
It’s bad enough that a Michigan Walgreens pharmacy gave a 14-year-old customer someone else’s prescription, but the teen’s family says the drugstore chain made the situation much worse by demanding that the family go out of pocket to finally obtain the correct drug. [More]
Cops Bust Man Accused Of Pilfering The Plumbing From Burger King, Cracker Barrel And More
By 10.20.14
You know what’s annoying? Heeding the call of nature at a restaurant, only to find that the thing that makes the toilet flush is missing, and the necessary plumbing to tote away what needs toting is gone as well. Who would want to steal pieces of toilets? Police in Florida say a man has been accused of visiting local eateries and pilfering the plumbing for his own gain. [More]
Pizza Hut Creates Crusts Stuffed With Jalapeños And With Dessert
By 10.17.14
In their ongoing quest to stretch the boundaries of pizza crust-stuffing science, Pizza Hut uses their international outlets as test kitchens for new and exciting meals. In the United Arab Emirates and in Korea, the chain is testing two ideas that sound quite appealing. Or maybe I should have eaten lunch today. [More]
Starbucks Holiday Promo: Free Drinks For Life, Or At Most 30 Years
By 10.16.14
Starbucks doesn’t want your cash. It doesn’t want your credit or debit card, either. The chain coffeeteria wants its customers to pay using Starbucks gift cards or mobile apps, so they can keep track of what you, personally order, and send you promotions and coupons accordingly. That’s the unstated reason why Starbucks will have a promotion this holiday season: a chance to win “Free Starbucks for Life.” [More]
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Get Ready To Show That Ink, Baristas: Starbucks Changes Policy To Allow Some Visible Tattoos
By 10.16.14
Things are about to get a bit more graphic behind the Starbucks counter. And by graphic we mean in the illustrated sense, now that the coffee company has revised its tattoo policy, allowing employees to show off their ink – albeit with a few caveats. [More]
Lawsuit Alleges Chipotle Required Workers To Perform Duties Without Pay
By 10.16.14
The door may be locked and the lights may have dimmed, but there’s still plenty of work to be done after closing for many restaurant employees. While working after hours isn’t uncommon, those who perform those duties probably expect to continue being paid. But a former employee claims that wasn’t happening at Chipotle, and now he’s suing the fast-casual restaurant. [More]
FDA Going After Companies Offering Unapproved Ebola Medications
By 10.16.14
While the country is watching the news of every new Ebola case very closely, the federal government doesn’t want the worrying to get so out of hand that people start looking for medications to prevent or treat Ebola. Since there are currently none approved by the Food and Drug Administration, the government is already cracking down on a handful of companies promising to provide relief from Ebola. [More]
Glorious Restaurant Serves Only Macaroni And Cheese
By 10.15.14
I once thought that I was alone in my dream of a restaurant that served nothing but grilled cheese sandwiches, but I was wrong. The Melt opened in 2011 and continues to thrive and expand. Surely, though, there aren’t enough cheese-obsessed Americans to also support a restaurant specializing in macaroni and cheese, right? I’m probably alone in that dream. [More]
Taco Bell Testing Sriracha-Flavored Menu Items
By 10.15.14
If you’re searching for a meal that mixes Mexican and Asian flavors, heading to the Midwest probably doesn’t make much sense. But that’s where Taco Bell is reportedly testing new menu items that use much-loved hot sauce: Sriracha. [More]
Man Claims McDonald’s In Canada Served Him Mouse-Flavored Coffee
By 10.15.14
A man in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada ordered a cup of coffee at McDonald’s during his commute to work, finishing the cup at the office. That was when he found the surprise at the bottom of his cup. It was not the good kind of surprise: he told the CBC that he found a dead mouse and some mouse droppings at the bottom of his coffee. [More]
9 Things You Need To Know From Frontline Investigation Of Antibiotics & Animals
By 10.15.14
Last night, PBS’ Frontline aired a report on the huge amount of antibiotics that farmers pump into animal feed and the effects that this practice has on the development and spread of antibiotic-resistant superbugs that kill thousands of Americans and make millions more sick every year. [More]
